Regensburg und Dachau

Regensburg
Was our trip on Saturday. I went with three other girls: one from my university, one from Ohio, and one from the Czech Republic. It was, to say the least, an adventure. We started out at the Eichstätt Stadt train station at nine in the morning. From there we went to the Eichstätt main train station, where we changed trains to get to Ingolstadt (the same city where I stayed for two days when I first arrived in Germany). In Ingolstadt we had an hour and a half before our train to Regensburg left, so we decided to kill our time by walking to Ingolstadt's Altstadt (literally translated as “old city”). Most cities here in Bavaria, as far as I know, have an Altstadt. Eichstätt is small enough that the Altstadt and the city, for all purposes, are one and the same. And yes, I still need to take some pictures of Eichstätt. Unfortunately, from the main train station in Ingolstadt, to its Altstadt is about a half hour walk. We wandered around for a while, until we came across this church. Went inside, took some pictures, then realized we needed to start walking back to the train station if we were going to make our train on time. Even then, we took a few pictures as a group in front of the church. Because we took so long, we ended up nearly running to get to the train station on time. But we made it.

Little did we know, this was a foreshadowing of the rest of the day. The train ride to Regensburg was uneventful. I believe it was only about an hour or so long. Not bad. We arrived in Regensburg with the intentions of making the 2:00 ferry that would take us to Walhalla, which is a faux Greek building, and whose purpose is like a hall of fame for important Germans. We get to the place where we buy our tickets for the ferry – one way only, because we had decided to take the bus back to Regensburg – and this guy yells out to hurry up, because the ferry was going to leave soon. So we took off running towards our ferry, because it was a good distance aways. I didn't even have time to put away my wallet or anything before we started running, so I was running along with my wallet in my hand, and backpack slightly open, hoping nothing would fall out, and that we would make it to the ferry in time. We made it, and as far as I know, nothing fell out. The 45 minute or so trip out to Walhalla was a little boring, and a bit cold. But it was the worth the wait. The Walhalla is an amazing structure that sticks out of the German countryside. Something like 390 steps to get to the top. We climb up to the top, pay four Euro to get into the inside where all the busts of the famous people are. A little steep, I think, but it was fun, and I got some pictures with Mooey – one of which looks like he's kissing Albert Einstein. We wandered around Walhalla for a while, taking pictures and soaking up the view, then decided to find where the bus stop was. Stopped and asked people for directions about three times, found the bus stop, only to find out we had missed the only bus for the day. At a little bit of a loss for what to do, since we were a bit stranded, we decided to make our way back to the river, and see if we could pick up the ferry back to Regensburg. After walking a while, the ferry finally came into view, and we saw that it was still there. No worries. A few moments later, we heard the motors start up, and we took off running again, to see if we could make the ferry. But the time we made it to the dock, the ferry had taken off.

Oh, shit, right? Almost. One of the people working on the ferry saw us, and then turned the ferry around to pick us up. So we were lucky enough to get back on the ferry, even though we only had paid for a one way ticket (we made up the difference for the round trip ticket). And to make it even better (or worse, I suppose), everyone on the ship just stared at us as the ferry turned around, and one little kid, about five years old yelled out, “You are too late!” As if we didn't already know!

We decided to stay away from the crowded parts of the ferry, as to avoid any evil glares that would come our way. When the ferry docked, we got off and away as fast as we could. Then we decided we wanted to see the Dom St. Peter. It is quite amazing. Most churches here are unbelievable. I'm not sure there are words to describe them – one must simply experience them. After that, our trip was quiet and uneventful, as we were pretty exhausted by then, and all we did was wind our way back to the Regensburg train station, eat a Dönner (YUM!), and then make our way back to Eichstätt, which involved switching trains three times. But we made it back, all in one piece, a little exhausted, but overall satisfied.

Dachau
Left Mooey behind on this excursion. In comparison to our trip to Regensburg, this was the complete opposite – somber and a little depressing. I'm not even sure there are words to describe the what it was like, and if there are, I don't think I would say them. It's just something that has to be experienced (though I do have plenty of pictures to share). Going to Dachau did, however spark my interest in the Holocaust, and WW2. I would definitely like to learn more. And improve my German enough to read Anne Frank's Diary – the untranslated version, of course.

So my classes begin this week – Tuesday. I'll now have classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. It's not a bad schedule, and it definitely gives me a lot of free time. As much as I'd like to travel a lot, this weekend has shown me that a lot of travel by train could get really expensive. I've been told plenty of times that I should just go and travel and spend my money, but I'm torn between that, and being able to buy myself lots of nice things while I'm here in Germany. It's a tough decision, because I don't think I can manage both. As nice as it'd be, I don't want to go broke over here. There will be too much to pay for back home, and I'm not interested in holding down two jobs right after I get back, and through my last semester of college, in order to pay for everything. I'd like some free time to do what I want. But we'll see what the next three months bring me.

Miss you all,
Amanda

PS. For pictures, clink these links:
Regensburg and Dachau
The Mooey Album
Hallo Deutschland!